After wrapping Abei in the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and the others left the Great Hall.
They cautiously looked around. Once they were sure no one was paying attention to them, they hurried toward Hagrid's hut without stopping.
But just as they stepped outside the castle, they were spotted by Draco and his two lackeys, who happened to be out for a walk.
"Where are you going?" Draco blocked the path and asked with interest. "The common room isn't this way."
"None of your business." Ron shoved Draco aside after tossing out those words, then quickly passed through the corridor with Harry and Hermione, who both looked slightly guilty.
"How rude," Crabbe said indignantly.
Draco's face darkened slightly as well. Normally, he would have thoroughly mocked Weasley, but he had grown a lot over this period.
Weasley could lack manners, but Malfoy could not.
"What are they doing outside the castle so late at night?" Goyle asked in confusion. "It's almost curfew!"
"What else could they be doing?" Draco gave a disdainful smile. "Outside the castle, the only person they have any connection with is that giant groundskeeper. That's the only place they could possibly be going."
As soon as he said it, Draco's expression turned strange. "That's suspicious! What are they doing there at this hour?"
"Maybe they're catching up," Crabbe said without thinking much of it. After all, Harry and the other two did have a good relationship with Hagrid.
"No!" Draco began pacing slowly. "If they were just catching up, there'd be no need to do it now. Curfew is almost here, and if they don't get back to the dormitories in time, they'll lose points.
"And they seemed rather sneaky just now, like they'd done something they didn't want anyone to know about.
"Most importantly, I didn't